On Monday, Fishers will start look for its new downtown heart. Neighboring Carmel and its Arts and Design District (pictured) may provide Fishers with some ideas.

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FISHERS, Ind. -- Juggling their cell phones and coffee cups, commuters drive by the future of downtown Fishers every day -- and hardly notice.

But then, what's to see? A congested road, coffee-tipping railroad tracks, a few strip malls? And a town hall sitting amid a big empty space that is rarely filled with people, except for occasional concert crowds, weekly farmers markets (in the summer) and state fair train parking.

Susan Stafford, however, sees an empty canvas upon which to construct a real heart of Fishers -- home to about 80,000 people. ...